House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was widely rebuked on both sides of the aisle after tearing up her copy of President Trump's State of the Union Address Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, the White House Twitter account slammed Pelosi for dishonoring distinguished guests, writing "That's her legacy."
Speaker Pelosi just ripped up:
One of our last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
The survival of a child born at 21 weeks.
The mourning families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Mueller.
A service member's reunion with his family.
That's her legacy.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 5, 2020
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told Fox & Friends "I wasn’t sure if she was ripping up the speech or ripping up the Constitution," adding "The contrast here was a president who spent an hour-and-a-half making the speech about America and Nancy Pelosi in the final moments tried to make it about her."
Several C-Span callers who identified as Democrats said that Pelosi's stunt was beyond the pale.
WOW! After the State Of The Union DEMOCRAT callers into C-SPAN completely destroyed Pelosi, saying they will NEVER vote for the Democrat Party again!😮 @realDonaldTrump #sotu #StateOfTheUnion #NancyPelosi pic.twitter.com/mB3ExhXWdr
— Maggie VandenBerghe 🇺🇸 (@FogCityMidge) February 5, 2020
And conservative attorney and impeachment witness Jonathan Turlley wrote in a Wednesday Op-Ed in The Hill, "the conduct of Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union address this week will go down as a day of infamy for the chamber as an institution."
While it has long been a tradition for House speakers to remain stoic and neutral in listening to the address, Pelosi seemed intent on mocking President Trump from behind his back with sophomoric facial grimaces and head shaking, culminating in her ripping up a copy of his address.
Her drop the mic moment will have a lasting impact on the House. While many will celebrate her trolling of the president, she tore up something far more important than a speech. She shredded decades of tradition, decorum, and civility that we need now more than ever. The House speaker is more than a political partisan, particularly when carrying out functions such as the State of the Union address. A president appears in the House as a guest of both chambers of Congress. The House speaker represents not her party or herself but the entirety of the chamber. At that moment, she transcends her political ambitions and loyalties. -Jonathan Turley via The Hill
Who liberals hate. #PelosiNeedsToGo #pelositantrum pic.twitter.com/W0tMjgOc1V
— Star Parker ⭐🇺🇸 - Text CURE to 33777 (@StarParker) February 5, 2020
#PelosiTantrum is the top trend on Twitter this morning pic.twitter.com/OqWxDGyTki
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 5, 2020
Pelosi has responded to critics, telling House Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting "He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech," adding that Trump's address was "a manifesto of mistruths," according to The Hill.
"You are supposed to talk about the state of the union," Pelosi continued. "not the state of your alleged mind."
Sure Nancy.
